ARTICLES ABOUT DUQUETTE BY DATE - PAGE 2

With the July 31 nonwaiver trade deadline three weeks away, the Orioles are pursuing trade options, including an upgrade of their starting rotation. According to industry sources, the Orioles have been closely monitoring and gathering background information on Colorado Rockies veteran left-hander Jorge De La Rosa. De La Rosa, 33, is not a stranger to Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette, who was in charge of the Boston Red Sox in 2001 when the club signed De La Rosa out of the Mexican League.

Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette said Monday that the organization is considering re-assigning top pitching prospect Dylan Bundy to Double-A Bowie following his next rehabilitation start for short-season Single-A Aberdeen on Friday. Duquette said the Orioles still plan to re-evaluate Bundy following his start for Aberdeen on Friday, which will be a year to the day he had Tommy John elbow ligament reconstruction surgery. “We were going to see how he does, and then see if we wanted to send him to Bowie, depending on how he does,” Duquette said.

Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette said Tuesday that he is not suggesting that third baseman Manny Machado is headed for the minor leagues any time soon. But he did make it clear that Machado would be a candidate to be sent to the minors if he is not playing at a major league-caliber -- the way he did in 2012 and 2013. Duquette made comments in the past two days to SI.com and Fox Sports that demoting Machado, who has been fined and suspended for five games by Major League Baseball after throwing a bat in Sunday's game against the Oakland Athletics, was an option.

Well, we have made it to Memorial Day. Students are graduating, pools are open and we have our first "Orioles have interest in trading for ... " story. I love annual traditions. This report comes out of CBS Chicago - that the Orioles are interested in Chicago Cubs right-hander Jeff Samardzija, a free agent after the 2015 season who is 1-4 with a 1.68 ERA in 11 starts this season. The Orioles were interested in Samardzija this winter and certainly haven't lost that interest since the 29-year-old has posted the second-best ERA for a major league starter so far this season.

Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette said left-hander Johan Santana will throw five innings or 75 pitches Tuesday in an extended spring training game and then his next step will be determined. Santana, a two-time American League Cy Young Award winner, has an opt-out clause at the end of the month in the minor league deal that he signed in the offseason, but Duquette said he doesn't believe that is a concern. “That's open for discussion. I think the June 1 date was a date we had in mind that he would be close to being ready for the big leagues,” Duquette said.

Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette said Monday he wouldn't be engaging in contract extension talks with any players during the season -- meaning the future of pending free agents J.J. Hardy , Nelson Cruz and Nick Markakis will be on hold until after this season ends. “We're not going to be exploring any extensions during the season. We are focused on the club during the season,” Duquette said. “Once the season starts, I think it benefits the team and the players and the fans to keep the focus on the field and the players on the field.” In May 2012, Duquette reached a six-year contract extension with center fielder Adam Jones.

SARASOTA, Fla. -- Dominican slugger Nelson Cruz sat at his new locker a few weeks ago and surveyed the Orioles' spring training clubhouse. In one corner, Taiwanese pitcher Wei-Yin Chen was huddled with his interpreter. On the other side of the room, South Korean star Suk-min Yoon was playing pingpong. Right beside Cruz was Cuban outfielder Henry Urrutia, soaking in the experience of a marquee Latin American player who has not forgotten what it was like to be a stranger in a strange new land.

Steve Lombardozzi may not end up as a fulltime infielder for the Orioles. It doesn't matter. And maybe Alex Gonzalez's bat has been dipped into the fountain of youth and he ends up hitting this season like he did in winter ball and this spring. It doesn't matter. Monday's trade that sent the 37-year-old Gonzalez to the Detroit Tigers for the 25-year-old Lombardozzi was an absolute gem for the Orioles. And it's exactly why Dan Duquette signs anyone and everyone over the winter, no matter how much it may frustrate fans wanting big moves or writers wanting a daily break from the “they signed whom?

SARASOTA, Fla. -- Orioles executive vice president came into the media room at the Ed Smith Stadium complex this morning to discuss the team's trade with the Detroit Tigers for infielder Steve Lombardozzi in exchange for nonroster infielder Alex Gonzalez , as well as Sunday's news that All-Star third baseman Manny Machado will open the season on the 15-day disabled list. Here is a transcript of what Duquette said: On acquiring Lombardozzi: Steve Lombardozzi is a talented infielder.

SARASOTA, FLA. - Maybe Dan Duquette knew it all along, though if that were really the case, he isn't letting on. It certainly appears that he played the new "qualified" free agent system like a Stradivarius to pick up solid starting pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez and slugger Nelson Cruz in a played-out market. He waited and weathered a frustrating winter during which he appeared to be playing a dangerous game with the hard-earned loyalty of a once disaffected fan base. He spent three months looking like a guy with all the wrong phone numbers and listening to a steady drumbeat of media criticism.